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WODC - Oxfordshire joins neighbours in tier 4, with people told to stay at home

23/12/2020

 
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Steep rises in COVID-19 cases in Oxfordshire have prompted the government to place the county into the new tier 4 level of restrictions from Boxing Day, joining many neighbouring areas in the south-east of England.

Tier 4 is the highest alert level in the national four-tier system, and it means that Oxfordshire residents must stay at home, except for a limited number of purposes. These include essential work that cannot be done from home, buying food, taking exercise, or getting medical treatment. In tier 4, you cannot meet other people socially indoors, unless you live with them or are part of a support bubble.
Ansaf Azhar, Oxfordshire County Council’s Director for Public Health, said: “We are in a very serious situation, which means that people are once again being told to stay at home. The new variant of COVID-19 spreads extremely quickly and these rules are being applied for our own safety and protection. The numbers of cases across the county have risen very steeply and we have also seen sharp rises in hospital admissions.
“When we compare our current situation with that of just a few weeks ago, we can clearly see how quickly things can change and how aggressively the virus can spread if we let our guard down even by a fraction. We have seen during 2020 that this virus thrives on human contact. That seems to be even more the case with the new variant, which is 70% more transmissible and is increasingly becoming the dominant strain across the country.
“Tier 4 is a stark warning that we need to be extra vigilant. Unless we all take personal responsibility as individuals and families throughout the coming weeks, we risk creating a situation in the early weeks of 2021 that will see further steep rises in the number of cases at exactly the time of year when viruses thrive. This means putting even more pressure on our NHS at its busiest time of year.
“The COVID vaccine has started to be rolled out to the over 80s and health and care staff across Oxfordshire. However, it will be some way into 2021 before this begins to provide protection to larger numbers of the population and make a material difference to the overall situation.
“I would therefore urge everyone to adhere to the new tier 4 rules and to take every precaution. We need to protect ourselves, our communities and the NHS as we enter 2021.”
Cllr Michele Mead, Leader of West Oxfordshire District Council, said: “Obviously I am very disappointed that we have had to move to Tier 4 but it is essential that we all stick to the rules so everyone can stay safe.
“The vaccine programme is rolling out rapidly so hopefully this will be the last time we see these severe measures being imposed. In the meantime, remain vigilant, follow the rules and stay in touch with each other, particularly the most vulnerable in our communities.”
Current cases
The number of cases in Oxfordshire stood at 236.5 cases per 100,000 of the population as of December 18. This represents a rise of 86% since December 11. There were 1,636 cases up to December 18 compared to 878 in the week ending December 11.
What are the tier 4 rules?
  • Stay at home, except for permitted reasons. This includes shopping for food and other essentials, exercise, education, childcare, collecting prescriptions, medical appointments, essential work, and to attend a place of worship.
  • Everyone who can work from home should do so.
  • You cannot meet other people indoors or in a private garden, unless you live with them or they are part of your support bubble.
  • You can exercise or meet in a public outdoor place with people you live with or your support bubble (or as part of a childcare bubble), or with one other person at a safe social distance.
  • You must not travel to other areas, other than for legally permitted reasons, to help slow the spread of COVID-19.
  • Shops selling non-essential goods and market stalls not selling food must close.
  • Cafes, restaurants, bars and pubs must close but they can serve takeaways, click and collect and delivery orders.
  • Personal care, hair and beauty salons must close, as should tattoo, massage and spa venues.
  • Entertainment venues, indoor attractions and leisure facilities must close.
  • Clinically extremely vulnerable people are advised to stay at home as much as possible, except to go outdoors for exercise or to attend health appointments. If they cannot work from home, they are advised not to go to work and claim any support where eligible.
Further information can be found at www.gov.uk/guidance/tier-4-stay-at-home
Clinically extremely vulnerable people
Clinically extremely vulnerable people are advised to stay at home as much as possible, except to go outdoors for exercise or to attend health appointments. If they cannot work from home, they are advised not to go to work and can claim any support where eligible.
Libraries and cultural services
The Oxfordshire Museum and Oxfordshire History Centre will need to close. The county’s libraries will also close but some will provide a limited number of services, including IT access, which must be booked, online services, home library visits and click and collect.
Registration Services
In line with national guidance the county council’s Registration Service will only be conducting wedding or civil partnership ceremonies in exceptional circumstances such as the iIlness of a couple or member of family due to attend ceremony. This would also include a military deployment at short notice, life threatening surgery or debilitating illness as well as for couples where one of them is seriously ill and not expected to recover.


WODC - How to Recycling your Christmas Tree

22/12/2020

 
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How to recycle your Christmas treeResidents are being encouraged to recycle their real Christmas trees.
Householders already signed up for garden waste collections can simply put them out on their next scheduled garden collection from Monday 18 January. Trees should be cut up and placed inside their licensed garden bin.
However, if the garden waste bin is full, the tree can be cut up and left next to the full bin for collection. Trees larger than 90cm / 3ft should be cut into manageable pieces before being put out.
Cllr Norman MacRae, Cabinet Member for the Environment, said: “Last January more than 9,800 tonnes of garden waste, including Christmas trees, was recycled in West Oxfordshire. Let’s do even better in 2021.
“Putting your tree into the garden waste bin makes disposing of it quick and easy but if you’re not signed up, we’ve organised collection points across the district.”
Anyone, including those who are not garden waste customers, can take their tree along to one of the Council’s collection points on Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 January as listed below.

Saturday 16 January
9am-11am
Black Bourton Rd Car Park, Carterton

Saturday 16 January
1pm-3pm
New St Car Park, Chipping Norton

Sunday 17 January
9am-11am
Witan Way, Car Park G, Witney
Trees will be taken to the composting facility that processes garden waste.

WODC - Residents and businesses urged to be patient as Covid-19 test centre is built in Witney

7/12/2020

 
An NHS Covid-19 testing centre is to be built in Witney to improve support for residents.The building will be situated in the Woodford Way car park and is expected to remain for at least three months.
It will mean that around 80 long-stay car parking places will be out of action from Monday morning and the recycling centre will also be removed to accommodate the building.
However, all short-term parking will remain in place for shoppers.
Construction will start on Wednesday with the site set to go into operation the following Saturday.
Cllr Toby Morris, Cabinet Member for Resources at West Oxfordshire District Council, said: “We realise this will be an inconvenience for some residents and businesses that use the long-stay car parking at Woodford Way as well as the recycling centre.
“However, the NHS testing service had to find a suitable site in the town centre and this was the best option. It will allow easy access for walk-in testing which I am sure everyone will agree is completely necessary in the fight against Covid-19.”
Alternative long-stay parking is available on levels seven and eight of the nearby Marriott’s Walk multi-storey car park and Zone G of the Woolgate car park, while the Council will make provision for an additional 75 long-stay car parking spaces at its Woodgreen and Elmfield offices.
Collections will also be boosted at the recycling centres in Moorland Road and Hailey Road to cover the closure of the site at Woodford Way.
Once completed, the site will operate from 8am-8pm.

WODC - ‘Council Calling’ campaign successfully makes contact with thousands of ‘clinically extremely vulnerable’ residents

3/12/2020

 
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West Oxfordshire District Council has successfully completed the task of checking-in with thousands of vulnerable residents to see how they have coped during the lockdown.

The ‘clinically extremely vulnerable’ are those deemed to be at heightened risk of Covid-19 and have been shielding as a result. The ‘Council Calling’ campaign has seen council staff – as well as elected councillors – making thousands of telephone calls for the past two weeks as they seek to establish contact with more than 4,000 residents across the district with the aim of checking on their welfare to see if they need assistance.
Cllr Michele Mead, Leader of the Council, said: “We set out two weeks ago to contact all of our residents that are deemed to be clinically extremely vulnerable because it is essential that no-one is left isolated or without support, especially as we are heading into the winter.
“This has been a considerable task. Making contact means that we have kept on calling and calling until we have spoken to every one of them. It is not enough to try to reach them, or to leave messages, we have actually spoken to - or corresponded via email or SMS text - with 4,139 people.
“I’m really proud of the efforts our team has made. Lots of vulnerable people already have strong support networks, with family and friends looking out for them, but we did not want to assume that was the case. We are still in the throes of a national emergency and that requires us to make an extraordinary effort – which we will continue to do until we are through this crisis.”

OCC - Oxfordshire Libraries announces e-book short story competition 2021

1/12/2020

 
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Library users are being offered a chance to discover new writers, stories and voices from around the county as Oxfordshire Libraries launches its annual short story competition for 2021.
The winner from each of the three categories will see their short story published as an e-book; available via the library website to be borrowed and read across Oxfordshire. Previous winners have been some of the most borrowed e-books in the library collection - so this is the perfect time for new writers to take this opportunity to get published. The competition aims to inspire writers, whatever their age, to express themselves and tell their own original story.
Cllr Lorraine Lindsay-Gale, Cabinet member for Cultural Services said:
"The e-book competition is a great chance to get your unique writing voice heard and could be an inspiring first step for new writers of all ages. We welcome and encourage people of all ages to enter the competition and share your creative talents."
What’s new this year?
Now in its seventh year, the competition has newly added a third category, so that children are invited to enter their short stories.
This follows on from the success of the Children’s Poetry and Art Competition, in early 2020, where Oxfordshire Libraries were overwhelmed with creative responses from children and young people. Oxfordshire poet, James Carter, who wrote in the foreword for this collection, noted that the writing "dazzles, intrigues and enchants."
The short story competition categories are:


    • Children’s category for 5 – 11 years
    • Young Adult category 12 – 17 years
    • Adult category 18 years +
The competition is free to enter and entries can be submitted from Tuesday 1 December 2020. The closing date is Sunday 21 February 2021.
Oxfordshire Libraries Online - Full terms and conditions as well as instructions on how to submit your entries can be found on the Oxfordshire Libraries website: http://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/shortstorycompetition
​Contact: librarydigitalservices@oxfordshire.gov.uk
URL : http://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/oxfordshire-libraries-announces-e-book-short-story-competition-2021/

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